Hinata, NY
by Expertise626
Summary: A version of Love Hina set in modern day New York City. (Chap 3 up. Settling in the story)
1. Chapter 1: New York

Hinata, NY

By: Jesse (Expertise626)

Author's Note: I don't own Love Hina. But, this story is my fiction, so if you wish to use this story in a site, please notify me first and ask for my permission.

Another note before I begin. This story is set in the present, in New York City. When reading, know what you are expecting from a huge city. Also it requires a basic knowledge of Love Hina. The characters here are closely based upon the ones from Lova Hina. You can tell from their names and habits. Just for safety, let me name them here.

Keitaro Urashima - Keaton Ulysses Naru Narusegawa - Natalie Naville Kaolla Su - Kelly Sumpter Motoko Aoyama - Michelle Anderson Mitsune Konno (Kitsune) - Caroline Morado (Kara)  
Shinobu Maehara - Sheryl Massiah Mutsumi Otohime - Melissa Ottoman Amalla Su - Anna Sumpter Lamba Lu - Lamba Lu Seta Noriyasu - Samuel Northrope Haruka Urashima - Hayley Ulysses Sarah McDougal - Sarah McDougal Kentaro Sakata - Kenny Serval Grandma Hina - Granny Heather

If there's any I missed, I'll place them in later installments. Forgive any grammar and punctuation errors. With making something like this, I might make a mistake by putting in the real names and stuff. To start basically, I might work with the same episode layout. But I have to start adding new episodes that won't alter the story, but serve in some way to enhance it as a different version. With that said, let's begin!

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Chapter 1 - All-girls Apartment with a Jacuzzi: New York

FLASHBACK

Two kids, a boy and a girl, are playing in a sandbox in a mini-park in New York City. The girl is building some sort of sand castle with the boy.

"They say that if two people promise to go to NYU together, they'll get married and stay together forever."

"Huh?"

"Kei, promise me that you'll get into NYU with me!"

The girl kisses the boy on the cheek and runs off grabbing her Hello Kitty plush. Later, we see the boy, Keaton, chasing after the girl in a truck. She was yelling 'Bye...! Remember our promise!' and Keaton responded with 'No, don't leave!' in between breaths. Keaton trips and falls on the ground, watching the truck go away. He stands up with confidence and says 'I'll get into New York University!' and the flashback ends with a grown Keaton standing triumphantly in front of the Exam results.

"I've finally made it into NYU!"

He slumps past the graduation party and is surrounded by many women who seem like they want to be with him. He brushes them aside and walks through a door and sees his promised girl.

"We can finally be together, Kei..."

We see them together doing random couple things and finally at a student marriage ceremony. While they are getting married, Keaton's Grandmother Heather jumps on him and congratulates him, opening her mouth for a big kiss on Keaton. He resists and suddenly wakes up from the dream sweating.

"I'm Keaton Ulysses. I'm 20 years old. My hobby is taking pictures, although I'm the only one in them. I haven't made it into NYU, and the only girl I ever liked was the one I made a promise with 15 years ago. I can't even remember her name and how she looks like."

Keaton walks to the bathroom and commences to brush his teeth when his mom interrupts him.

"Keaton, today is your exam results!"

"I know."

"Honestly, we can't support you forever. Why don't you stop chasing that dream and go get a job? I can't afford to feed you anymore!"

Sighing, Keaton finishes brushing his teeth.

"How about I get a job and help pay for it?"

"Really? You'd do that? Oh, by the way. Your Grandma Heather just called. She wants you to come!"

Keaton gagged at the thought of his dream with his Grandmother in it. He stood up and got dressed, preparing to go look for his exam results. In the Hinata Apartments in New York City, we see Grandmother Heather sitting at a table with four girls. She sips tea and smiles.

"I'm going to explore hot springs around the world. I'm leaving."

"What? What about us? You can't just make us go home...!"

"Don't worry, Natalie. I'm assigning a new landlord. The new manager should be arriving soon."

Grandmother Heather rises and walks out the door. A tall woman with dark hair stood up and also walked out the door. Natalie grabs onto her shoulder and the woman turns around.

"Michelle?"

"I'm leaving to go to the Fencing training club."

Michelle runs out of the house with fangirls following her. Natalie walks over to a woman who is plopped down on the floor.

"Ugh, I stood up too late..."

"Kara, we have to convice Grandma Heather not to go!"

Kara fell fast asleep as a little tan-skinned girl spun around her. The scene shifts to Grandma Heather who is waiting for the bus outside of the apartment. A woman is standing outside with her. She mumbles with a cigarette in her mouth 'Are you sure we should leave Keaton to do this?', responded by 'You're having doubts, Hayley? Yes, he'll be fine.' The bus arrives and Grandma Heather gets onto the bus, which rides away into the distance. The Practice Admission Exam Results, Keaton is seen looking at the results. Not seeing his name, he walks over and bumps into a girl with think glasses on. She falls to the ground and Keaton offers her his hand to help her up. She grabs onto his hand and Keaton helps her up. His two friends come over and pull out the exam results.

"Keaton Ulysses, 27th from the bottom. Almost sure not to make it in."

Listening to the results, the girl panics and pulls her hand off of his grip, yelling 'Ahh, don't give me your bad grades! It's contagious!' Pulling her hand off caused Keaton to lose balance and fall. He landed under the girl's dress and he looked in shock. Enraged, the girl picked him up by the shirt and punched him across the hallway. Keaton knocked around like a pinball, finally slamming into the end of the corridor, whispering 'Pink.' Keaton's two friends walked next to his piled heap of flesh and helped him up.

"What's with that girl anyway." said one of the friends.

"This is my third time failing."

"There's always next year, Keaton!"

"Yeah. Oh, by the way. I need to go to my Grandma's Apartment!"

Keaton digs into his pocket and finds he has no money for the bus fare. He pulls his hands out of the pocket and rests his hands upon his friends' shoulders.

"Hey guys, can I borrow some money?"

They turned around and ran backwards with Keaton chasing them yelling 'Hey, money! MONEY!' Scene shifts to Keaton on a bus. He sits down remembering how he used to go here when he was a child. An annoucement stated 'We are now arriving at Harrison street. Please exit and don't forget your belongings.' Keaton stood up and left the bus. He arrived at the area where the Hinata apartment was. He continued his walk until he reached a park and a memory of his promised girl came to him. He took a seat at the bench and started to draw a moving truck. When he picked up his pencil to draw her face, he forgot how she looked like. His attention was taken by a girl who was on another bench, sitting and crying. He opened up to another page and started sketching how she looked like with a smile on her face. Suddenly, a frizbee came flying in his direction and hit him in the face. He looks up and sees a dog, steadily running towards him. The dog jumps on him and startles him, making him drop the sketch book and opening in front of the girl, revealing her face. The dog picked up the frizbee and ran off, back to it's owner. The girl looked at the picture and turned to Keaton, who was standing up, looking at her.

"Huh? It's so-"

"Aaah, sorry sorry. My drawing hand just got the best of me again. Bad hand, ehehehe."

He jets off in the direction of a narrow alleyway which seemed familiar. He runs down and remembers this as the place he used to go to when he was a child. He ran further and arrived at the Hinata apartment building. It was not tall like other buildings, but it was more wider with only few stories. He came to the door which was unlocked and Keaton entered. He screamed out for his grandma and unable to find her, he comes across a Jacuzzi with hot water in it. He takes off his clothes and puts on a towel. Keaton then proceeds to jump into the Jacuzzi and swim around in it. He stops and relaxes on one of it's edges and closes his eyes. He opens them when he notices a girl walk in to join him. Natalie sees him in there and says 'Hi.' and proceeds to enter the Jacuzzi with him, placing the pair of glasses she was holding in her hand on the side of the tub.

"I forgot to put on my contacts."

In shock, Keaton has his eyes wide open and didn't move. She wades over to him and puts one hand on his back.

"You know, Kara. Lately my breasts have been getting bigger."

She puts her other hand on his lap. She stares in wonder.

"Well, Kara. Didn't Miss Hayley say not to drink wine in the Jacuzzi? And why is your wine bottle under water? Wait a minute..."

Natalie puts on her glasses and looks at him. She takes off her glasses and in shock, she slaps Keaton in the face. Keaton starts to run and trips onto a basket of clothes. Another woman with a towel on, identified to be Kara, sees him. Keaton runs off with the basket on his head with Kara yelling 'Hey those are my undies! Give 'em back!' Natalie then runs into the room.

"He's a pervert! Get him!"

They both get dressed and run after Keaton. He runs down the hallway and sees a little tan-skinned girl with an army uniform on and some toy tanks. Keaton walks over thinking 'Finally, someone normal.' and steps on a tank, causing it to break into many tiny pieces. The girl, in shock, presses a button on her remote control and the toy tanks launch BBs at Keaton.

"Commander Kelly is here to save the day from naked intruders! Woooooo hooo!"

Keaton runs outside and sees Natalie who kicks him into a tree. Keaton climbs up the tree with Natalie and Kara at the base, looking up at him. Several more BBs fire at Keaton, knocking him down and onto the floor. He stands up and tries to run, being stopped by Kelly. He turns the other direction and his surrounded by a very angry Natalie and Kara.

"Pervert! I say we chain him up, whip him and send him to the depths of hell!"

"And he's a Pantie thief!"

"Nooo....! I didn't do anything wrong!"

Suddenly, a more mature and elderly voice comes from somewhere. They turn to it, to see Hayley with a broom looking at Keaton.

"Oh, I see you've arrived, Keaton. Where is your clothes? It's not safe to be with just a towel on in the city."

Keaton runs over to her and goes down on his knees and hugs her.

"You've come to save me, Aunt Hayley!"

She takes her elbow and slams it against his head, sending him to the ground, saying 'That's Miss Hayley.'

"Wait a minute, 'Aunt Hayley'?" said Natalie.

"Yeah, he's my nephew. He's the new landlord."

"What?!"

"I'll explain it. Let's go to the Apartment first. I'll close the bar for an hour."

Scene shifts to inside the Apartments, around a table. They are discussing about Keaton.

"It's not right! An All-girls Apartment can't have a boy Landlord!" yelled Natalie.

"He'll make a good Landlord. He's an NYU student." Hayley said in response.

"I'm not really a-" Keaton said. But was interrupted by Hayley's elbow on his head.

"Yeah, Natalie, maybe he can tutor you." said Kara.

"I don't know. Something's not right about him. Where have I seen you before?"

"So it's settled. We now have a new Landlord, yay!" said Kelly joyfully.

They dispersed in all direction. That night, we see Keaton and Hayley in the bar next to the Apartments after hours. Keaton is sitting down at a table with Hayley leaning against the door.

"I see. So you didn't make it in yet, huh? Guess that's a mistake on my part. I thought you made it in."

"I feel bad lying to them. I shouldn't lie."

"What will you do?"

"I guess I'll leave."

"If you leave, Natalie, Kelly and Kara will be without a home. There will be no one to manage this place and keep the rent in check. They don't exactly have places to return to."

Natalie is walking past the bar and hears them talking and eavesdrops.

"Keaton, there are good lies and bad lies. Besides, if you get in this year, the lie will become the truth."

Natalie who is outside, overhears and remembers then. She whispers 'Ah, it's you!' and walks off back into the apartment building. Later that night, Keaton is seen scrobbing and cleaning the apartment building. He was in the middle of scrubbing the hallway when a familiar voice calls from behind him yelling 'Keaton Ulysses, 27th from the bottom!' Keaton turns around and sees the girl from the Practice Admission Exam place.

"It-it's you!"

"You still don't know me?"

She pulls off her glasses to reveal Natalie.

"How could you lie to us like that!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I was going to-"

"You think by cleaning this place up will make it any better?"

"It was the last thing I could before I left."

"Wait a second, you're going to leave? But we need a manager!"

Natalie walks towards Keaton and slips on the soapy hallway and slams onto Keaton who is pushed against the wall. Both their glasses fall to the ground and she gets a good look at him.

"You actually look pretty cute without your glasses." said Natalie.

'Is this real? If it's real... I can touch her.'

Keaton grabs her arm and she punches him in the face yelling 'What are you doing?!' Kelly and Kara run into the hallway to see what was the commotion and see them to up against the wall.

"Taking advantage of him already, Natalie?" said Kara.

Natalie pulled herself off of him. She straightens herself out and Keaton pulls his head out of the wall.

"I'll tell you the truth."

Keaton closed his eyes getting ready for the effects of lying.

"I was asking him about Exam questions and if he could tutor me."

He opens his eyes and looks at Natalie.

"Lying.."

"Is bad?"

She winks one eye at him and they walk off. Later that night, Keaton walks around and sees a note on a door saying 'Your room is here!' He goes inside and sees an empty room with nothing but a hole in the ceiling. Keaton walks up to the balcony and looks at the moon.

"Wow, I got to admit, she saved me there. But I prefer women who are more nicer."

Hearing this from the floor below, Natalie yells 'And after I saved you? Ungrateful wretch!' and throws a brick at Keaton. It hits him and send him flying into the skies yelling 'Where will I goooo!'

END OF CHAPTER 1: Tell me what you think. You can leave reviews or e-mail me. 


	2. Chapter 2: Cooking

Hinata, NY

Author's Notes: I don't own Love Hina. Yet this is still my fiction. So if you wish to use it, please contact me first and ask for permission.

Sorry if you had to endure the repetitive first chapter of the story. Honestly, it seemed too similar to the LH version, right? Well, first off, I read through it and found it to be very similar to the LH version. I took some time to rethink it, but found it's because the LH version captured the entrance of all the characters rather well, so I used it. But now that we're warmed up, it's set for change. This is the 'Enter Shinobu' episode equivalent. This one I took more liberties with, because it was much more easier to convey than Chapter 1. Depending on how much you liked the Shinobu episode, you might find this one similar, but different in an entertaining way.

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Chapter 2 - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Good Food: Cooking

Two people are seen in a restaurant after hours yelling at each other. They seem to be a bickering pair. Out of all the talking, a little girl is sitting on one of the chairs, resting her head upon the table.

"What's wrong with you?! Sheryl goes with me. You have no prospects and don't have the will to take care of my daughter!"

"This isn't going to work. You don't make enough money to take care of everything!"

They continued going at it for an hour. Amidst the argument, the girl gets up and walks to her room which is above the restaurant. Her two parents saw her walk upstairs and paused for a second and continued fighting. The next day, Keaton woke up and got dressed, leaving his apartment room to go to the main lounge, where everyone hanged out. When he arrived, he saw everyone sitting at the couch watching television and doing random nonsense.

"Good morning."

"Hey, the landlord woke up!" yelled Kara.

"Please, call me Keaton."

"And you can call me Kara, then!"

They paused for a second, and Kelly's stomach started rumbling. She stood up and jumped on top of Keaton, riding on his shoulders. Keaton's knees almost failed him for a second when he finally regained his composure with Kelly on him.

"Oy! I'm hungry! Keaton, you're gonna get us some breakfast right?" Kelly yelled with her carefree voice.

"Huh? What? Breakfast?"

"Yeah, I have to go to school. A girl can't go start the day without some energy, y'know?"

"And what money am I going to use?"

"Yours, moron." said Natalie.

"Yeah, hope ya can cook as good as Granny Heather did, though!" yelled Kara.

"We have to go to school now. See ya, Keaton!"

Keaton looked down and thought to himself 'How can I tell them I'm clueless about cooking?' Kelly picked up her backpack and ran out of the lounge. Natalie stood up, picking up her backpack and walked out quietly. Keaton turned back to Kara who was switching channels and she looked back at him.

"Is there somethin' on my face?"

"No, no. I just didn't know that Natalie still went to school, though."

"Yeah, she's still 17. Natalie's trying to get into NYU."

"Oh, I see."

"But hey, aren't ya gonna go get some food?"

"Huh? I'm supposed to feed you, too?"

"Granny Heather did. Why doncha go grocery shopping or something. I'd go with ya, but I'm no good at that sort o' thing."

"Right."

He walked out of the room and headed to the bar next door. Kara continued to flip the channels with her remote when she stopped for one second and thought, scratching her head in the process.

"Doesn't he have classes to attend? Hmm..."

Keaton walked next door where he entered the bar and saw many drunk men fighting each other. Keaton saw Hayley stand up and attempt to break up the fight. When they got angry, they started throwing punches at Hayley, who dodged them and fought back with martial arts. She yelled to Keaton 'Open the doors!', which he did. One by one, she threw them out into the street. Once everything cooled down, Hayley wiped her sweat off with a towel and goes back to bartending. Keaton walks to the front of the counter and leans on it.

"Oh hey Keaton. What can I do for you?"

"Aun- Miss Hayley. Am I really supposed to COOK for the tenants too?"

"Well, it's what your Grandma Heather did."

"I have no idea how to cook!"

"You're on your own. I'm too busy."

Keaton folded his arms and left the bar, walking to the local store. Having no idea on what to cook, he thought about his mother making chili. He went and bought ingredients he thought he needed. Cheese, chili powder, beef, milk, green peppers, onions, soda, tomato sauce, pasta, instant noodles, eggs, junk food, toilet paper, and alot of salad (Which he knew was easy to prepare). Taking the shopping bags in his hands, he walks out of the store with no idea on what to cook. Keaton thought about ordering food from a restaurant and bringing that back to the apartment. He walked his way to the 'New York Bistro' restaurant and ordered food at the counter. The cashier took the money and delivered his order to the kitchen in the back, where they began making his meal to go. While waiting, he sees a pair fighting and yelling at each other. He identifies it being marital problems and continues looking at them. His attention is then diverted by a young lady who is running down the stairs crying. She runs towards the direction of the door and sees Keaton standing there. She looks at Keaton while running and halts her crying for a second. When she exits the door, she initiated crying again all the way down the street. The two people saw her exit the door and yelled 'Sheryl!' in unison. Keaton received his meal from the waiter shortly afterwards and ran outside to see where the girl went. When he exits with the bags in his hands, he sees Sheryl running down the street to the park near the Hinata apartments. He quickly chases after her dodging the cars and walks into the park area. He runs in front of Sheryl, who was sitting on the bench. Keaton dropped his bags and panted heavily looking at Sheryl. She looked up at him with tear-strained eyes and smiled at him. She looked back down and continued crying.

"Oh... Hi. I noticed you running out of the restaurant there. I thought there might be something wrong." said Keaton, not able to control his habit of helping random people.

"I see. If there's anything I can do for you, you can find me at the Hinata apartments right down there. I'm Keaton."

He pointed at the rather small building, which stood out anyway, despite it's size. She looked up at him pointing at the apartment and stood up from the bench. He gave a warm-hearted smile and bowed to Keaton.

"Sorry, sorry. My name is Sheryl."

"Nice to meet you, Sheryl."

"You too, Mr. Keaton. I remember you. You drew that picture of me yesterday."

He backed up in shock, thinking something bad was going to happen to him.

"It was beautiful. I've never seen an artist so gifted before."

Keaton put his hand behind his head and smiled, obviously being embarrassed.

"You think so? I never thought I could make something out of my drawings."

Keaton put his hand on Sheryl's shoulder and smiled saying 'If you ever need somewhere you can relax and take off tension, please come to the Hinata apartments.' He picked up his bags and was about to walk off when she stops him with a loud 'Wait!'

"I still have your sketchbook at my room."

"Oh... Well, you can keep it if you want."

"It's yours, I don't want to keep it from you."

"Hehe, ok. I'm sort of busy at the second, maybe you want to stop by sometime and drop if off for me?"

"Sure."

She bowed and ran off. Keaton walked back to the Hinata apartments where he plopped all of the groceries in the kitchen. He began sorting the supplies and putting it away. Kara shimmys her way over to the kitchen where she sees Keaton unpacking the groceries.

"Got any food?"

"Yes, I got some food from the New York Bistro."

"Sweet. I didn't have ANY breakfast."

Keaton grabbed the food and brought it to the lounge, where they both sat and ate. Later that day, Natalie and Kelly returned home. Kelly jumped across the stairs and went into her room, where she spended most of her time calling birds, watering plants and playing video games. Natalie also walked into her room and opened many study guides, one could she see spends most of her time looking at the books. Later at sunset, Keaton was being pestered to cook dinner. He walked to the kitchen and looked at the supplies he set out. Clueless on what to do, he turned to run to the bar, but remembered the it was Happy Hour, where Aunt Hayley was most busiest. He looked back at the supplies and tried to remember what ingredients his mother put in when making chili. A spark fired in his head and he pulled out a saucepan, getting to work. In the 2nd floor of the New York Bistro, Sheryl can be seen holding onto Keaton's sketchbook, mustering up confidence to give it back to him. She walked down the stairs hearing her parents yelling at each other again. Sheryl walked out the door and travelled to the Hinata apartments where she smelled something horrible. She covered her nose and walked to the door, ringing it. Kara answers the door with her nose plugged. Smoke billows out from the door and out all of the windows as did the horrid smell of whatever crime was being made in the kitchen.

"Hey, I'm here to return this to Keaton."

"Eh? The landlord? GIve it to him yerself! I'm not going in that kitchen!"

"He's cooking?"

"Yeah! And whatever it is, I'm not eating it!"

Sheryl ran into the house, guided by Kara into the kitchen. As soon as they arrived near the kitchen, Kara ran off, leaving Sheryl alone to walk in there. She slowly inched her way into the kitchen where she saw Keaton in the far corner of the room, tossing onions at the stove and saucepan, which seemed too monstrous to go near. Seeing a vent, Sheryl flips a switch and the smell vents out of the kitchen and to the outside. With the smoke cleared, Keaton can be clearly seen with a knife in one hand and two onions in another. Keaton was startled to see Sheryl as she ran towards the saucepan to rescue the meal. Keaton also went with her as she observed the boiling pan.

"Wait, Mr. Keaton. Please bring me some cold water and some onions. We might be able to save this."

Keaton ran off to the sink to get some cold water and tossed her the onions in his hand, which she caught and began slicing. Soon enough, a meal was prepared and set in the lounge. The tenants began eating at an appauling rate, all but Sheryl, who watched as they ate.

"Good stuff! I didn't know you could've rescued that thing! It smelled horrible!" said Kara.

"Thank you. There wasn't much wrong with the chili Keaton was making. The horrible smell came from the burning onions on the stove."

"You're a great cook, Ms. Sheryl. I'd be a happy man if I ate food like this everyday!" said Keaton in between bites.

Sheryl blushed and looked down in embarassment. Soon enough, they finished eating and Keaton was cleaning up the plates. He walked into the kitchen to set down the plates in the sink and wash them, when he saw Sheryl in the kitchen holding his sketchbook. Keaton set the plates in the sink and walked up to Sheryl, who gave him his book back.

"Thank you for the wonderful dinner and returning my book. I don't know how we can repay you."

"No, it's ok. You don't have to..."

"No really. Is there something I can do?"

She looked down with a frown upon her face. Suddenly, she ran up to Keaton and cried on his chest. Keaton, taken by surprise, paused for a second and hugged Sheryl. She looked up at him with a sad look upon her face.

"Please, let me stay here with you."

"Huh? Wouldn't your parents be worried about you?"

"They don't care!"

Keaton pulled her off and held her shoulders with both of his hands. He looked down and smiled at her.

"I'll go ask your parents for their permission."

"They're too busy fighting all the time! They won't listen!"

"I see. Your happiness comes first. I'll go see them now."

Keaton marched out of the apartments and towards the Bistro with Sheryl behind him. Kara, seeing them walk out, inform the other girls and they followed him quietly. When they arrived, Sheryl ran in first where she saw her parents looking at her.

"Why are you out so late, Sheryl?"

Keaton walks in and folds his arms, looking at them.

"That would be my fault. Sheryl needed a place to go. To get away from the fighting." he said.

"Huh? How do you know?" said Sheryl's father, looking at his daughter.

"I came here just today and saw the fighting. You know, when a family fights, the children also suffer."

"Listen, kid, you don't know crap-"

"Yes I do! When I was young, my parents used to fight all the time. They would go at it everyday. I always wished it would just stop. It hurts me that they were fighting my whole life."

"Sheryl is suffering because of your arguments."

Sheryl's father left the house with a fit of anger, going outside to take a drag on a cigarette, noticing three girls eavesdropping. Inside, Sheryl's mother walked up to Keaton, who is also sad with the memories of his parents.

"My friend." said Sheryl's mother. She tapped him on the shoulder and Keaton looked up to meet her.

"Yes?"

"You are wise beyond your years. Unfortunately, I cannot promise the argument will end right away."

"I see."

"Who are you?"

"I am Keaton, landlord of the Hinata apartments."

"I see. This might work out. Can you please take my daughter in? I'll pay for the rent."

Sheryl's eyes widened with joy when she heard her mother's words.

"I'd be glad to."

Sheryl's mother nodded and told Sheryl to start packing. Keaton leaves the Bistro and the three girls hide behind a trashcan. Kara turns to Natalie and says 'Maybe he isn't so bad after all.' Later that night, Sheryl is being dropped off by her father in front of the Hinata Apartments. Sheryl's father walked her to the front of the door where she was met by Keaton, who was standing out in the front. Sheryl's father shook hands with him and said 'Not many men make me reconsider the way I think. He's a special kid, Sheryl.' He walked off back into the car and drove off leaving Sheryl there blushing. Keaton opened the door and let Sheryl enter. Keaton took most of her bags and placed them inside, where she was greeted by the three other girls.

"Hi. I'm Sheryl. Nice to meet you. Please let me stay, I'll cook for you guys everyday!"

"Really? Kickass!" yelled Kara.

"Don't worry about it, your mother has taken care of everything." said Keaton.

Keaton took Sheryl through the stairs and up to her room, where she would stay. He set her bags inside and opened the shades so she could see outside.

"Well, this is it. You're one of us from now on, Ms. Sheryl."

Sheryl started getting tears in her eyes, which shocked Keaton. She ran up to him and hugged him. Keaton relaxed realizing it was tears of joy and eased into it. 


	3. Chapter 3: Kenny

Hinata, NY

Author's Note: I do not own Love Hina or any other references I use in this. But, this still is my fiction. Contact me if you wish to use it. Oh, sorry about the lack of update lately. Came down with a flu and some writer's block I guess. This is more of a character development chapter than anything. I guess it really settles in the story after 2 other chapters of hefty introduction.

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Chapter 3 - A Graduation and Admission Exams, Confession?: Kenny

That morning, Keaton woke up to a shuffling noise coming from above. He sits up on his bed and look up at the hole in the ceiling, covered by a board. Figuring that he could find where the noise is coming from, he finds a ladder and moves the board out of the way and sticks his head into the room. When he looked around, he saw a Graduation Gown, a tassle and a top hat. He stood on the ladder, remembering his good old high school days. He was interrupted by a girl angrily saying 'Keaton...! Pervert! I'm gonna kill you!' He turns around and sees Natalie with only her underwear and bra on, putting on some clothing. She rushes to put on her clothes and runs to attack Keaton. Noticing her fit of rage, he blushes, yelps and jumps down the ladder, running out of his room and through the hallways, with Natalie in hot pursuit. AT some point, she pulls out a BB gun and starts firing at him. Sheryl walks out of the kitchen with the food in both of her hands and is almost knocked over by Keaton and Natalie who zoom right past her. She runs to the lounge and puts the food on the table, with Kelly and Kara already eating. Soon after, Keaton opens the sliding door to the lounge and is seen with torn clothing with obvious holes in it. He clumsily stumbles his way to the table where he faints on the floor next to the TV. Natalie follows in soon after, panting with a BB gun in her hand. She takes a seat and eats breakfast with the rest of them.

"Somebody has been busy this morning." said Kara.

"That pervert over there peeked at me while I was changing."

"And he's blocking the TV!"

Kelly jumps over to him and lands on top of Keaton. She drags him out of the way of the TV and goes back to her chair and continues eating. Kelly looks at the clock on top of the TV and leaps out of her chair and onto her backpack, which she picks up and walks out of the house, followed by Sheryl close behind. Natalie, noticing the time, yells 'Ah, I'm gonna be late!' and runs into her room to change and get ready for her graduation ceremony. After 10 minutes, she runs back into the lounge screaming 'I'm gonna be late!' and runs out of the house. When she leaves the apartment area, a stretch limosine is waiting for her. In surprise, she quickly put on her thick dorky glasses and looked at the window of the car going down. The man leans his arm out the window and takes off his sunglasses, revealing it to be none other than Kenny Serval, the boy most likely to be Class Validictorian.

"Kenny Serval?"

"Yes, it is I, Natalie Naville. Please grace me with your presence in my limosine."

"I might as well, I'm going to be late if I walk."

She gets inside the limosine and quickly arrives at the school, where the ceremony took place. Natalie dusted her gown and straightened her tassle to prepare for the graduation. She looks into the crowd, but finds her parents were not there. Shaking off her initial emotion, she pays attention to the annoucement of the Validictiorian, who is none other than Kenny Serval. He makes a small speech and waves at Natalie, which was very unexpected by many of the adoring females. Back at the apartments, Keaton wakes up in the afternoon and find himself lying in his bed. He gets up and walks out of the door, greeted by Kara.

"Oy, Keaton. You've been out cold for like 5 hours now."

"Was I really? All I remember was getting beaten and hit by Natalie, then walking into the lounge a beaten pulp."

"Anyways, Natalie is back from her graduation ceremony. She's probably still angry at ya! I heard what happened, a maybe ya want to say sorry."

"I better go do that."

Keaton walks up the stairs and in front of Natalie's room. He sighs and knocks on a door, receiving a 'Who is it?' He responds with 'It's me, Keaton.' and gets back a 'Go away, low life!' He sighs again and yells 'I'm sorry! I came here to apologize!' With a reluctant tone, Natalie responds 'Fine, come in.' When Keaton enters the door he walks into her room and sees her studying on the table. From the looks of her room, Keaton could notice that she was obsessed with Japanimation. Keaton slowly trudges through, half-tripping on Natalie's Rei Ayanami doll and walking in front of Natalie. He puts his hand behind his head and stratches it, saying 'Sorry for earlier today.' in a very embarassed tone.

"Girls need their privacy." said Natalie, reading her 'Pre-Calculus Mathematics' book.

"Sorry for that. I didn't know what that hole lead to."

"I guess I can forgive you. But, the hole was there ever since I came. I used to talk to Granny Heather who was in the room below, but you're here now."

"So? I'm not a person you can talk to?"

Natalie opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again and turned to him.

"I'm studying for the Application exam for NYU." said Natalie, again looking at her book.

"Oh yeah! I was studying before, but the whole Landlord ordeal kind of interrupted the flow."

"You want to study with me?"

Keaton jumped at the thought and responded 'O-of course. Thank you.' He runs down the stairs to go retrieve his books. He runs back up the stairs with his books. Noticing the commotion, Kara sneaks up the stairs with Keaton and sees him entering Natalie's room. Giggling, Kara goes in front of Natalie's door and opens it slightly, to see what is going on in the room, but not be noticed. She sees Keaton and Natalie sitting on the table studying together. She heard their conversation as well.

"How old are you, Keaton?"

"I'm 20. Yes, it's the 2nd time I failed the Application exam."

"Third time? Do you do ANY studying?"

"Yes, I do. I just..."

Overhearing, Kara took a second to think and put the pieces together. Kara slides back down the stairs and into the lounge, picking up the wine where she left it and turning on the TV. Later that day, Natalie and Keaton walk down to the lounge to take a break from studying. They greet Sheryl and Kelly who are just coming home from their school day. They all sit down for lunch, which is prepared by Sheryl. She served them each of their plates individually on the table, and when she reaches Keaton, she blushes and hands him his plate. Keaton responds with a 'Thanks, I always enjoy your food, Sheryl.' which goes to further her embarassment. All was quiet when eating until Kara broke the silence.

"Maybe there's something you want to say to us, Keaton?"

"What's that, Kara?"

"Psst... I know your secret!" said Kara out loud.

Keaton closed his eyes in fear, thinking 'Oh god, she's found out. I better not hide it.'

"Ok, I admit, I won't hide it anymore!"

"What is it, Keaton?" said Kelly.

"I collect pictures of myself!"

Most of them responded with a 'Huh?' and Kara sighs and smiles again.

"Not THAT one. Although that's new to me!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"That you really aren't an NYU student? THAT one?"

Keaton almost totally forgot about the fact that he wasn't an NYU student. Keaton couldn't tell if Kelly was surprised, since she was always cheery anyway. Sheryl didn't even know what was going on.

"Alright, I guess I should come out and say it. I'm not really a student in NYU. I'm a two time failure."

"Yay! Keaton's a liar!" Kelly said with her normal perkiness.

"But I'll make it in this year. Starting with the Application test, promise!"

Over the course of a few days, Keaton and Natalie studied together in preperation for the application exams. The question about why did Keaton try so hard was stuck in Natalie's mind until one day she just couldn't keep it to herself anymore.

"So, why are you trying to get into NYU anyway? You failed twice already. What makes you so intent on getting in?"

"Huh? Well, it's gonna sound silly."

"Try me."

"I made a promise to this girl I used to like 15 years ago. Call it a stupid kid's dream, but I guess I'm following it all the way up to today."

Natalie looked in deep thought and was surprised. She shook off the initial reaction and continued studying until the test day. The two took the subway to the University for the entrance exams. Keaton and Natalie registered at the desk and made their ways onto their respective rooms to take the exams. When Keaton was walking to his room, he knocked into a girl. She looked more weaker than most girls and got unbalanced quickly. To refrain from falling, she grabs onto Keaton to maintain balance and pushes herself against him. Keaton stood there in utter silence with his eyes wide open. She stands upright once more and comes off of Keaton. The girl puts her hand on her head and says 'Aha, did it again, didn't I?'

"Um, sorry. That was my fault for knocking into you." said Keaton.

"No, no. I don't look where I'm going sometimes. Oh! My name's Melissa Ottoman."

"Nice to meet you, Melissa. My name is Keaton Ulysses. Are you trying out for NYU as well?"

"Yes, it's my 3rd time taking it."

"Me too! What room are you going to?"

"Room 315."

"Same here. What a coincidence."

"Why don't we walk there together?"

"U-us? W-walk there... t-t-t-t-together?"

"Yes. Actually, to tell you to truth, I'm rather lost."

"I-I-I'll bring you there."

They walked together through the hallway to Room 315, where they both took their respective seats and initiated the test. Keaton pulled out his pencil and started writing. It broke after writing down his name. He pulled out another pencil, which was dulled out and didn't write well. Pulling out his final pencil, the mechanical pencil, he continues to take the test.

'Question 1, out of all nine battles George Washington fought in, how many did he win. Uhhh...... 7? Question 2, in Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macduff was the thane of..... uhhhhhh..... lemme think.... Tokyo? Sounds about right. Question 3, the Winchester Repeating Rifle was also known as the..... .50 Desert Eagle?'

After an hour of test taking, Keaton and many other students have completed the exam. When they all stood to hand it up, Keaton noticed that Melissa's answers were all different from his, and that she didn't put her name on top. He figured it was intentional and brushed away the thought. Later that day, Keaton and Natalie returned home, where they were greeted by the residents of the Hinata Apartments.

"Oy, how didja guys do?" said Kara, clutching a bottle of wine.

"I totally aced that baby!" yelled Keaton in celebration.

They all celebrated and ran into the house, all but Natalie, who stood with her head down and a solemn face. The next day, Keaton and Natalie both went to check their exam scores, which were to be listed in the lobby of the University. When they arrived, papers were lined along the walls to show the scores. Keaton ran over to his score, which was highlighted in red, signifying that he didn't make the cut off. In bad spirits, he walked out of the University and saw Natalie sitting on a bench with her head down. He walks over to Natalie and looks at her.

"What's wrong, Natalie?" putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Leave me alone, Keaton." she said, pushing his hand off.

"... I'm sorry I didn't make it. I'll try harder next year."

She looks up at him with tears in her eyes.

"So you didn't make it, too?"

"Natalie..." 


End file.
